Most category copy is a 300 word block dumped under the product grid that nobody reads and that adds nothing Google cannot already infer from the product titles. The problem is not word count, it is that the page answers no question the grid does not already answer. Buyers arriving on a category page are still choosing between options, and the copy has to do that selection work.
category-page-copy-that-ranks.md
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name: category-page-copy-that-ranks
description: Use when category pages sit in positions 8 to 20 for their head term and the page is a bare grid with no text beyond product names.
---
# Category Page Copy That Ranks
Most category copy is a 300 word block dumped under the product grid that nobody reads and that adds nothing Google cannot already infer from the product titles. The problem is not word count, it is that the page answers no question the grid does not already answer. Buyers arriving on a category page are still choosing between options, and the copy has to do that selection work.
## What you need first
- Search Console query data filtered to that category URL
- the top five ranking competitors for the head term
- the product attributes your catalogue actually holds for that category
## Method
1. Pull every query the URL already gets impressions for and group them by modifier type: use case, attribute, price, comparison. These modifiers are the section headings, not your guesses.
2. Put a short 40 to 60 word intro above the grid that states what the category covers and the one decision that matters most, then get out of the way. Do not push the first product below the fold on mobile.
3. Below the grid, write sections that resolve the choice: which attribute suits which use, what the price tiers actually buy you, what to avoid. One section per query cluster.
4. Link out from those sections to your indexable facet pages using the modifier language as anchor text - this is what makes tiered facets earn rankings instead of just existing.
5. Add a short FAQ only where Search Console shows genuine question queries hitting the URL. Inventing questions produces padding that dilutes relevance.
6. Measure at 6 weeks on impressions and average position for the query cluster, not on the head term alone - category copy usually wins the long tail first.
## What this produces
A category page template with an above-grid intro, query-clustered below-grid sections, and internal links to indexable facets.
## Where this goes wrong
- writing the same skeleton copy across 200 categories with the category name swapped in, which reads as templated and ranks as such
- stuffing copy above the grid and pushing products off screen, which tanks engagement and eventually rankings
- repeating what the grid already shows instead of helping the visitor choose between what the grid shows
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From the QuQi skill library - https://www.quqi.io/skills/category-page-copy-that-ranks
Free to download · no account, no email
A category page template with an above-grid intro, query-clustered below-grid sections, and internal links to indexable facets.